Ice making device

ABSTRACT

An ice making device including a flexible ice tray rotated by a shaft connected to the one end thereof and an actuator temporarily engaged with the other end of the tray in cooperation with the moving force of the shaft to twist the tray thereby separating the ice cubes in the tray therefrom.

l United States Patent [191 [111 Ohnishi Mar. 18, 1975 [54] ICE MAKING DEVICE 3,142,106 8/1964 Wise et a]. 425/440 1 Inventor: Toshiyuki Ohnishi Osaka, ap 3,677,030 7/.1972 Nicholas 62/7- X h' t [73] sslgnee Tokyo S lbaura Electnc C0 L d Primary ExmninerWilliam E. Wayner Flledl 1973 Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Obl0n, Fisher, Spivak No: McClelland & Mfllel' [30] F orelgn Application Priority Data ABSTRACT Oct. 2, 1972 Japan 47-114320 An ice making device including a flexible ice tray I0- [52] U.S. Cl 62/353, 62/72, 425/440 tated by a Shaft connected to the one end thereof and Cl. an t t t p ily g g d th other d f [58] Field of Search 62/72, 353; 425/440 the tray in cooperation with the moving force Ofthe shaft to twist the tray thereby separating the ice cubes [56] References cued in the tray therefrom.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,056,27l 10/1962 DeTurk 62/353 5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures RJENTEDHAR 1 81975 3, 871 .189 SHEET 1 qf 2 n M w 1% A a I..| v N PATENTEUHARWISYS 3 71 189 SHEET 2 9f 2 FIG. 3

1 ICE MAKING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an ice making device having a flexible or twistable ice tray and capable of automatically ejecting ice blocks from the ice tray.

With ice making devices of this type, an ice tray is forcibly rotated about a horizontal axis with one end of the ice tray being positively secured by a stopper, to cause the ice tray to be twisted, to thereby permit ice cubes to be separated from the tray. With such devices it is necessary to rotate the ice tray in the opposite direction after the ice cubes are ejected from the tray, in order to return the tray to its an original position. The conventional devices necessary for the tray to be rotated in the normal and reverse directions are intricate in construction and there is required an expensive driving motor rotatable in the normal and reverse directions, or, in the case of a one-way motor, a rotational direction changing clutch mechanism must be provided on the drive transmitting system present betweenthe motor and the tray. Thus, a large-sized ice making device with a complicated design results.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the object of this invention is to provide a simple ice making device not occupying a large space as a whole and capable of using a simple, inexpensive one-way motor. 1

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view showing a refrigerator equipped with an ice making device according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the ice making device;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4 to 7 are respectively front views showing the various operative states of an ice making tray and an actuator; 4

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a modified actuator; and

FIG. 9 is a front view showing an operative state of an ice making tray and the modified actuator;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In a household refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 a body 10 has an upper cooling chamber and a freezing chamber 12 therebeneath in which an ice making device 11 is disposed. At the lower portion of the body 10 a machine room 14 is provided Within the room 14 a variety of mechanisms for cooling are housed. These mechanisms for performing a refrigerating cycle include a compressor 15 for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser 16 for Iiquifying the compressed refrigerant, an expansion valve 17 for controlling the flow of the liquifled refrigerant, and a fin type evaporator 18 for evaporating the liquefied refrigerant passing through the ex pansion valve 17 to effect a cooling. The evaporator 18 only is thermally insulated through a thermal insulating wall 19 from the other mechanisms. An air passage way 20 is defined between the thermal insulating wall 19 and a partition wall 13. An inlet 21 of the air passageway 20 is provided below the freezing chamber 12. An outlet 22 is provided at the upper portion of a vertical passageway 23 which is connected to the horizontal passageway 20 and extends along the side wall of the body 10, i.e., at the upper portion of the freezing chamber 12. Near the intersecting section ofthe vertical passageway 23 and the horizontal passageway 20 is pro- I cludes a flexible or twistable ice tray 27 provided within a body 26 of the device and having ice cubes formed therein and an ice cube receiving case 28 for storing the ice cubes made by the ice tray. Above the freezing tray 27 a water supply inlet tube 29 is located for introducing water into the tray. The water supply inlet 29 is connected through a duct 30 to a water reservoir (not shown). On the duct 30 there is provided a valve 31 for supplying water only when necessity arises.

There will be explained in more detail the ice making device 11 by referring to FIGS. 2 to 7. Within thebody 26 of the device is received a drive mechanism 32 for rotating the ice tray 27 about the horizontal axis. The

drive mechanism 32 has a DC motor 33 rotatable only in one direction and a reduction gear train 34 is associated with the motor 33. A rotation shaft 35 is connected to the reduction gear train 34. The forward end of the shaft 35 is firmly connected to the front end of the tray, and the rear end of the tray 27 is rotationally supported to the body 26. As a result, the tray.27 is slowly rotated in a clockwise direction in FIG. 3 by the rotation of the motor33.

First and second cams 36 and 37 are operatively connected to the reduction gear train 34 to be operated by the gear train 34. A water supply switch 38 and a stop switch 39 are provided within the body 26 of the device. On the tray 27, there is provided means such as a thermistor (not shown) for detecting the formation of ice cubes and driving the motor, which means, the water supply switch 38 and the stop switch 39 are operatively associated with each other as set out below.

The empty tray 27 is set within the body of the device. When an ice making switch (not shown) is turned 7 ON, the water supply switch 38 is turned ON to cause the valve 31 to be opened to permit a predetermined amount of water to be supplied into the tray 27. When the water within the tray 27 is frozen, the thermistor senses this condition, and causes the motor 33 to be driven to permit the tray 27 to be rotated. During the rotation, the ice cubes are separated and fall from the tray by means to be later described. When the tray 27 makes one rotation, the stop switch 39 is operated to cause the motor 26 to be stopped and at the same time the water supply switch 38 is turned ON to again permit a predetermined amount of water to be introduced into the tray 27.

The above-mentioned operation has no direct relevancy to this invention and is substantially the same as set forth in US. Pat. Nos. 2,996,685 and 3,308,63l. Therefore, further explanation is omitted. Though an electrical circuit etc. is not shown, it will be evident to those skilled in the art.

A support frame 40 is provided inside of the body 26 of the ice making device. On the support frame 40 is provided an actuator 41 forseparating ice cubes from the tray by twisting the tray 27 in co-action with the rotation of the tray. The actuator 41 is pivoted by a pin 42 to a projection 40a extending from one side of the rear end of the support frame 40 towards the inside. The actuator 41 consists of a vertical section 41a and a horizontal section 41b both of which are made of synthetic resin, and assumes a substantially L-shape as a whole. The vertical section 41a is spaced a little apart from, and extends along, the portion of the outer side wall of the tray 27 and the horizontal section 4112 is spaced a little apart from, and extends along, the bottom surface portion of the tray 27. The extent to which the horizontal section 41b extends along the bottom surface of the tray 27 is such that, when the tray is rotated in a direction of the horizontal direction 41b, the bottom edge portion 27a of the tray is temporarily engaged with the upper surface of the horizontal section 41b to cause the rotation of the bottom edge portion 27a of the tray to be temporarily stopped, or reduced in speed, against the rotation force of the motor to permit the tray 27 to be twisted. The actuator 41 is engaged with the tray during the predetermined time period and, after a twist sufficient to separate ice cubes from the tray is imparted to the tray, disengaged from the tray by the rotational force of the motor.

Explanation will now be made of the operation of the actuator.

When the ice making is complete, the motor 33 is driven as mentioned above, so that the flexible tray is rotated through the shaft 36 in a clockwise direction in FIG. 3 with the horizontal outer axis. When the tray 27 is rotated a predetermined amount as shown in FIG. 4 the bottom edge portion 27a of the tray is abutted on the upper surface of the horizontal section 41!) of the actuator and the rotation involved on this surface is restricted. However, since the motor 33 is still driven, that portion of the tray 27 abutted on the shaft 35 i.e., the forward end portion of the tray is forcibly rotated. As a result, the amount of rotation involved at the forward and rear ends of the tray 27 is varied and a twisting force is imparted to the tray 27. The continuous'rotation of the motor results in an increase of the twisting force. When a predetermined twisting force is attained, a pressure caused by the bottom edge portion 27a of the tray 27 overcomes an engaging force of the actuator 41 and the actuator 41 is swung in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 4 with the pin 42 as a center. As a result. the bottom edge portion 27a of the tray 27 is disengaged from the actuator 41 and the tray 27 is further rotated, as shown in FIG. 5, in a clockwise direction. As shown in FIG. 6, when the tray is rotated through an angle of 180 6 an upper end edge 27b on the opposite side of the bottom edge portion 270 of the tray 27 is abutted on the horizontal section 41b of the actuator 41 and the tray 27 is twisted, likewise, in a counterclockwise direction to cause ice cubes A attached on the tray to be dropped down into the cubic ice receiving case. When the tray 27 is rotated through an angle of 360 to be returned to an original state as shown in FIG. 7 the stop switch 39 is operative to stop the motor 33. Then, the water supply switch 38 is operated to permit a supply of water into the tray 27.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, a modification of the actuator 41 will be explained.

The horizontal section 41b of an actuator 41 as shown in FIG. 8 is substantially similar to the abovementioned embodiment, except that it has a stepped section 4lc,each step of which has an inclined surface raised towards the end of the horizontal section 41b.

With the ice making device provided with such actuator 41, the bottom end edge 27a of a tray 27 is engaged with the stepped section 410 to cause the tray 27 to be twisted. In this case, engagement with the stepped section is effected in a more reliable manner than the above-mentioned embodiment, and, therefore, a better ejection of ice cubes from the tray is assured.

With the above-mentioned embodiments, no means is provided for the actuator to be restricted or compensated in its movement. The engaging force of the actuator 41 and its return to an original position are adjusted by the pivotal state of the actuator and its own weight. Where the movement of the actuator is desired to be compensated, biasing means such as a compression spring B as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 9 may be provided.

With the ice making device according to this invention, the tray is rotated only in one direction so as to attain a cubic ice separation and obviates the necessity of using an intricate and expensive reversible motor and clutch. The tray according to this invention performing a cubic ice separation function is very simple in construction and it is twisted twice in opposite directions. Thus, a positive ejection of ice cubes from the tray is assured.

What is claimed is:

1. An ice making device comprising a body, a driving mechanism provided within the body, a shaft rotatable in one direction by the driving mechanism, a flexible ice tray having one end mounted to the shaft and.

adapted to be rotatable within the body and an actuator provided at one side of the tray near to the other end of the tray, the actuator having a base section rotatably supported on the body and an engaging section which when the tray is rotated through the shaft in one direction is temporarily engaged with said one side of the tray to cause the rotation of the tray to be restricted at said one side of the tray to permit the tray to be twisted. and thereafter rotated to be disengaged from it by the rotational force of the tray.

2. An ice making device according to claim l in which said actuator has means for imparting a force opposing a rotational force of the tray to the actuator when the actuator is engaged with said one side of the tray.

3. An ice making device according to claim 2 in which said means is a compression spring provided on the actuator.

4. An ice making device according to claim 2 in which said actuator has an L-shaped plate including a vertical section having one end pivoted to the body and a horizontal section extending along the bottom surface of the tray and having an engaging section at its upper surface thereof.

5. An ice making device according to claim 4 in which said engaging section is a stepped section provided on the upper surface of the horizontal section of the actuator. 

1. An ice making device comprising a body, a driving mechanism provided within the body, a shaft rotatable in one direction by the driving mechanism, a flexible ice tray having one end mounted to the shaft and adapted to be rotatable within the body and an actuator provided at one side of the tray near to the other end of the tray, the actuator having a base section rotatably supported on the body and an engaging section which when the tray is rotated through the shaft in one direction is temporarily engaged with said one side of the tray to cause the rotation of the tray to be restricted at said one side of the tray to permit the tray to be twisted, and thereafter rotated to be disengaged from it by the rotational force of the tray.
 2. An ice making device according to claim 1 in which said actuator has means for imparting a force opposing a rotational force of the tray to the actuator when the actuator is engaged with said one side of the tray.
 3. An ice making device according to claim 2 in which said means is a compression spring provided on the actuator.
 4. An ice making device according to claim 2 in which said actuator has an L-shaped plate including a vertical section having one end pivoted to the body and a horizontal section extending along the bottom surface of the tray and having an engaging section at its upper surface thereof.
 5. An ice making device according to claim 4 in which said engaging section is a stepped section provided on the upper surface of the horizontal section of the actuator. 